I opened a 529b last year for my son. The 529b is in my name. My wife and I contributed 26000 in 2012 to this account. Do we need to file 709 forms for both of us? Although we fall under the gift tax exclusion (26000 for a married couple), from just looking at the account statements alone it is not clear that I am married and that the 26000 dollar contribution does not actually exceed the 13000 per person limit.

There are two answers, the wrong one and the right one, both of which are no.

If you own the account, when you give to yourself, it is not a taxable gift. When your wife gives to you, it is not a taxable gift as there is an unlimited marital deduction if you are a US citizen. This is the wrong answer.

The right answer is still no as far as I know. Note that you being married is irrelevant. If your son is married, his wife can make an unlimited gift to his 529 assuming he is a US citizen. There is no $26,000 gift tax exclusion, but there are two separate $13,000 gift tax exclusions, one for your wife and one for yourself. So who gave what to your son? I assume "my wife and I" means just that, and that not all $26,000 came from just one of you.